New Record of Five Butterflyfishes (Family: Chaetodontidae) from The
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies 2014; 2(1): 92-101 ISSN: 2347-5129 IJFAS 2014; 2(1): 92-101 New record of five Butterflyfishes (Family: © 2013 IJFAS www.fisheriesjournal.com Chaetodontidae) from the Lakshadweep Archipelago, Received: 14-07-2014 Accepted: 08-08-2014 Western Indian Ocean, with notes on occurrence of K.K. Idreesbabu four additional species Scientist, Coral Reef Research, Department of Science and Technology, UT of Lakshadweep K.K. Idreesbabu, N. H. Cernohorsky and S. Sureshkumar 682 555, India. N. H. Cernohorsky Abstract Research Fellow, Department of Five new records of Butterflyfishes (Family: Chaetodontidae), viz. Chaetodon andamanensis, C. Botany and Zoology, Faculty of decussatus, C. guttatissimus, C. interruptus and C. lineolatus, are reported from the atolls of Science, Masaryk University, Lakshadweep archipelago, India. The occurrence of four additional species viz. C. madagaskariensis, C. Kotlářská 2, Brno 61137, Czech triangulum, Forcipiger longirostris and Heniochus pleurotaenia were also confirmed. The extension of Republic range of these coral reef associated fishes to these underexplored reefs points towards the need for an extensive scientific survey of fish biodiversity in Lakshadweep archipelago. A check list of the S. Sureshkumar Butterflyfishes of the Lakshadweep Archipelago is also provided. Associate Professor, Department of Aquaculture and Fishery Microbiology, MES Ponnani Keywords: Arabian Sea, Chaetodontid, First record, Reef fishes, India. College, Ponnani 679 586, India 1. Introduction Lakshadweep archipelago, formerly known as the Laccadive Islands, is a Union territory of India and forms the northernmost segments of the Chagos – Maldives– Laccadive oceanic ridge. Due to its location and due to governmental restrictions it has been rather isolated from the rest of the world. This isolation has lead to greater protection from direct human impacts, but has also resulted in very few scientific studies being carried out in these waters. Although most of the studies that exist are focused on fish, in comparison to other coral reefs of the Indian Ocean, like Maldives, Seychelles, or the Chagos Archipelago, the fishes of Lakshadweep have still received far less attention, and Lakshadweep's fish fauna is yet to be fully discovered. The first taxonomic study of fishes from these islands was done by Jones and Kumaran [1], which was based on samples acquired by commercial and sustenance fishing. However, most of the fishing gears used are inefficient in reef ecosystems and no in situ observation of the fishes using underwater devices was carried out. The more recent and complete work of Murty [2] , done on reef fishes of Lakshadweep, was also based on samples collected through fishing operations. Although a few in situ fish studies using visual census methods exist, it still seems that these fish species-lists may be far from complete [3, 4, 5, 6]. During an ongoing research project on habitat selectivity and abundance of butterflyfish population in Lakshadweep, we found 28 species of Chaetodontids compared to the previous 18 species reported by earlier [2.4] studies . The fish populations of Lakshadweep have managed to stay very close to pristine due to its isolation and due to the local artisanal fisheries focusing predominantly on skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis (L.) which are caught using a traditional pole and line fishing method. The expected high biodiversity and good reef health in Lakshadweep waters are of great Correspondence: S. Sureshkumar importance regarding the conservation of biodiversity in the Arabian Sea of Western Indian Associate Professor, Department Ocean. Moreover the chance for the report of new species or extension of range of many fishes of Aquaculture and Fishery are expected if more intensive surveys are carried out in the archipelago using modern Microbiology, MES Ponnani underwater technology. Hence an attempt to fully document of the region is made. College, Ponnani 679 586, India. ~ 92 ~ International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies 2. Materials and Methods 3. Results Lakshadweep is an archipelago in the Arabian Sea (8° and This paper presents the occurrence of nine additional 12°30' N, 71° and 74° E) off the West Coast of India with chaetodontidae species found from Lakshadweep of which 20,000 km2 of territorial water and 400,000 km2 of five are new records: Chaetodon andamanensis Kuiter and Exclusive Economic Zone. Lakshadweep Archipelago Debelius 1999, Chaetodon decussatus Cuvier 1829, consists of 15 atolls and 5 submerged sand banks. These Chaetodon guttatissimus Bennett 1833, Chaetodon atolls constitute 11 inhabited, 16 uninhabited islands, and 3 interruptus Ahl 1923, Chaetodon lineolatus Cuvier 1831. submerged reefs. The total lagoon area for these atolls is The other four species, Chaetodon madagaskariensis Ahl 4,200 km2. Belt transects [7] and timed swims techniques 1923, Chaetodon triangulum Cuvier 1831, Forcipiger were used to record the occurrence and abundance of longirostris (Broussonet 1782), and Heniochus species of the family Chaetodontidae. Belt transects (20m x pleurotaenia Ahl 1923 have been reported previously. 5m) were placed horizontal to the reef flat in the shallow However the basis for these reports is uncertain, as neither back-reef as well as on the outer-reef slope and observed to specimen deposits nor photographs exist. Therefore we quantify the density of chaetodontids. Timed swims could present them here to confirm their occurrence in cover large areas and were particularly useful to sample Lakshadweep. The photographs of the species are presented species that are unevenly distributed or occurred in low in figures and voucher specimens have been deposited in densities [8]. During the survey, fishes were photographed the reference collection of Western Ghats Regional Centre and video documented and specimens were collected to of Zoological Survey of India, Calicut [20]. For Chaetodon confirm correct identification. In the laboratory the species interruptus, C. madagaskariensis, Forcipiger longirostris were identified primarily using standard references [9, 10]. and Heniochus pleurotaenia, we present only photographic The genus and species classification was done following evidence as no specimens could be collected. Table 1 Eschmeyer and Fricke [11]. Further validity and correct provides the list of all species of the family reported from nomenclature of the fishes were checked in FishBase [12]. the Lakshadweep Islands. The fishes were identified up to species level and their abundance was recorded on underwater data sheets [13]. Data on occurrence alone are presented in this paper. Table 1: Check list of the butterflyfish of the Lakshadweep Archipelago Sl. No. Scientific Name Reference 1 Chaetodon andamanensis Kuiter and Debelius, 1999 Present study 2 C. auriga Forsskål, 1775 [1] 3 C. bennetti Cuvier, 1831 [1] 4 C. citrinellus Cuvier, 1831 [1] 5 C. collare Bloch, 1787 [1] 6 C. decussatus Cuvier, 1829 Present study 7 C. fulcula Bloch, 1795 [1] 8 C. guttatissimus Bennett, 1833 Present study 9 C. interruptus Ahl, 1923 Present study 10 C. kleinii Bloch, 1790 [1] 11 C. lineolatus Cuvier, 1831 Present study 12 C. lunula (Lacepède, 1802) [1] 13 C. madagaskariensis Ahl, 1923* [16] 14 C. melannotus Bloch and Schneider, 1801 [1] 15 C. meyeri Bloch and Schneider, 1801 [1] 16 C. trifascialis Quoy and Gaimard, 1825 [1] 17 C. triangulum Cuvier, 1831* [16] 18 C. trifasciatus Park, 1797 [1] 19 C. vagabundus Linnaeus, 1758 [1] 20 C. xanthocephalus Bleeker, 1853 [1] 21 Forcipiger flavissimus Jordan and McGregor, 1898 [21] 22 F. longirostris (Broussonet, 1782)* [4] 23 Heniochus acuminatus (Linnaeus, 1758) [1] 24 H. dipherutes Jordan, 1903 [2] 25 H. monoceros Cuvier, 1831 [1] 26 H. pleurotaenia Ahl, 1923* [16] 27 H. singularius Smith and Radcliffe, 1911 [2] 28 Hemitaurichthys zoster (Bennett, 1831) [1] *Confirmed in the present study ~ 93 ~ International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies 3.1 New records of Butterflyfish from Lakshadweep archipelago 3.1.1 Chaetodon andamanensis Kuiter and Debelius 1999 Fig 1: Chaetodon andamanensis in the lagoon of Agatti Atoll. The specimen collected and deposited in Zoological Survey of India, WGRC, Calicut (inset specimen Reg.No.ZSI/WGRC/IR.V.2496) Material Examined as Chaetodon plebeius, despite the absence of the blue D.XIV, 17; A.IV, 14; P.14; V.I, 5. TL 104 mm, SL 89 mm, blotch on the upper sides of the body. Due to the character Body depth: 52 mm. A single specimen was collected from of the oceanic currents around Lakshadweep and the fact Agatti lagoon (10°50'43.99"N, 72° 9'23.08"E), from the that C. andamanensis is very rare in Lakshadweep, it is back-reef in 1.2m depth. The specimen is deposited in quite plausible that it has spread to Lakshadweep from the Zoological Survey of India, WGRC, Calicut with specimen Maldives only recently. number- ZSI/WGRC/IR.V.2496. 3.1.2 Chaetodon decussatus Cuvier, 1829 Diagnosis Bright yellow body with brownish grey line running along Material Examined: D. XIII, 24; A.III, 20; P.14; V.I, 5. horizontal scales rows on the body originating from behind TL 95 mm, SL 76 mm, Body depth: 50 mm. A single head, darkest and thickest along upper side and fading specimen was collected from Kavaratti lagoon ventrally; head with black vertical band across eye, with (10°33'40.09"N, 72°37'15.65"E), from the back-reef in 2 m pale blue margin; black spot with pale blue margin on depth. The specimen is deposited in Zoological Survey of upper part of caudal peduncle; caudal fin yellow with India, WGRC, Calicut with specimen number- transparent margin [14, 15]. ZSI//WGRC/IR.V.2507. Distribution Diagnosis: Black area covering most of the back part of the In Eastern Indian Ocean: from the northern Sumatra and the dorsal fin and continuing down to the end of the anal fin; Andaman Sea westward through Sri Lanka to the Maldives anal fin with yellow stripe; a dark bar through middle of [15]. caudal fin; a black band over eye connected at nap; tips of dorsal spine white.